This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 002323
SIPDIS
NOFORN
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, T, PM, IO, DS; NSC FOR E. MILLARD
LONDON FOR POL/RIEDEL
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12-18-12
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, ECON, MV, KICC, UN, Maldives, Human Rights
SUBJECT: During Mission visit, Maldivian MFA says it is
carefully reviewing proposed ICC Article 98 agreement
Refs: (A) Colombo 2180, and previous
- (B) State 250990
- (C) State 243173
- (D) Colombo 1926 (All Notal)
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of Mission.
Reasons 1.5 (b, d).
1. (S/NF) SUMMARY: During a December 17 meeting in
Male, Polchief urged the Maldivian government to sign an
ICC Article 98 agreement with the U.S. MFA Permanent
Secretary Shaheed replied that the GoRM continued to
SIPDIS
review the proposal, which it viewed in a "favorable
light." Shaheed made a strong pitch for a meeting
between Presidents Bush and Gayoom next year. He
appreciated the information about Guantanamo access and
urged the U.S. to continue to support the Maldives'
designation as a "developing country" at the UN. In our
estimation, after repeated USG efforts, the Maldivians
seem to be inclining toward possibly concluding an
Article 98 agreement, but their review of the issue will
take time. END SUMMARY.
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Proposed ICC Article 98 Agreement
---------------------------------
2. (C) Polchief visited the Maldives, December 16-17.
During a December 17 meeting in Male, he discussed
several pressing bilateral issues with Dr. Ahmed
Shaheed, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs. (Note: See Septel re the Maldivian
domestic political situation, including the upcoming
presidential selection process.) The first issue raised
in the meeting involved the U.S. proposal that the
Maldives sign an International Criminal Court (ICC)
Article 98 agreement. As the Deputy Secretary, SA A/S
Rocca, and Mission have done repeatedly (see Ref A),
Polchief reiterated U.S. arguments urging the Maldives
to sign such an agreement as soon as possible. Polchief
noted that Sri Lanka, a close friend of the Maldives,
had signed such an agreement on November 22. The
Maldives would gain significant credit with the U.S. the
sooner it joined with us on this vital issue.
3. (C) In response, Shaheed said the GoRM continued to
carefully review the proposal, which it viewed in a
"favorable light." Additional Maldivian intra-
governmental study was necessary, however. This review
would take at least several weeks. One of the reasons
the review would take time was the fact that President
Gayoom had a busy travel schedule and would only be back
in Male in mid-January. Polchief asked whether any
additional information re the U.S. proposal was needed.
Shaheed replied that the GoRM had enough information at
this point, and was just weighing whether the U.S.
proposal "conformed with Maldivian law" and was in the
country's "foreign policy interest." (Note: Ambassador
Wills plans to visit the Maldives in the January
timeframe and will take up the Article 98 issue with top
GoRM officials then, if it has not yet been settled.)
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Request for Meeting with President Bush
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4. (C) Shifting focus, Shaheed noted President Gayoom's
strong interest in meeting with President Bush next year
(see Ref D). Shaheed remarked that no GoRM leader had
ever had the privilege of meeting an American President
since the country obtained independence from Britain in
1965. President Gayoom, who had been in office almost
25 years, would deeply appreciate the honor of even a
very short meeting. The planned visit to the U.S. was a
part of a larger visit to Western Europe, and the GoRM
was confident that PM Blair and President Chirac would
meet with Gayoom. Shaheed added that President Gayoom
was up for re-election next year and, as a politician, a
meeting with President Bush was especially important to
him at this time. (Note: Gayoom has been in power
since 1978. Per the Maldives' presidential selection
system, a popular referendum on the nominee of the
Parliament for the next five-year term in office is
scheduled to take place in mid-2003. Per Septel, Gayoom
has not formally announced his candidacy, but he is
widely expected to run again.) Polchief replied that
the U.S. is reviewing the Maldivian request, and will
get back to the GoRM at a later date. Polchief also
provided Shaheed the original copy of the letter to
President Gayoom from President Bush, which was
contained in Ref C.
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Guantanamo Access
-----------------
5. (S/NF) Per Ref B, Polchief reviewed with Shaheed the
information the GoRM has to provide the USG re the one-
to-three-person delegation it wants to send to
Guantanamo. (Note: The GoRM has requested access to
Ibrahim Fawzy, a prisoner held at Guantanamo who is a
Maldivian national.) Shaheed said the government will
gather the information needed and provide it to the USG
as soon as possible. He expected that the officials on
the proposed GoRM team would be from the National
Security Service (NSS). (Note: DATT met with the Chief
of the NSS last week and offered to escort to Guantanamo
any NSS officials the GoRM chooses to send there, should
the visit be approved.) (Note: In a separate meeting,
a NSS representative told Polchief that Fawzy is from
Baa Atoll located to the northwest of Male and had no
record of previous extremist behavior. Fawzy went to
study in Pakistan some time back and the GoRM had lost
track of him there. Mission is also faxing to SA/INS an
undated report that surfaced on the anti-GoRM website
"Sandhaanu" re the Fawzy matter.)
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"Developing Country" Designation
--------------------------------
6. (SBU) The final matter discussed at the meeting
concerned the Maldivian government's desire that it
continue to be designated a "LDC" (less developed
country) for purposes of the UN. Shaheed said the issue
was due to be reviewed again in the UN Committee for
Development Policy (CDP) in April 2003. Shaheed said
the GoRM would appreciate strong U.S. support on this
issue, as it had received in the past. Polchief replied
that the U.S. wanted to be helpful, but was still
reviewing the issue. Any additional information the
GoRM could provide re its position would be greatly
appreciated. Shaheed said the MFA would send Mission a
detailed rationale of its stance soon. (Note: In a
meeting with Polchief, UN Resident Coordinator Minh Pham
related that he thought there was strong support at the
UN for the Maldives' receiving another three-year
extension in LDC status. He thought that some
countries' would demand that the GoRM develop an "exit
strategy," however, given rising economic indicators.)
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COMMENT
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7. (C/NF) In our estimation, after repeated USG
efforts, the Maldivians seem to be inclining toward
possibly concluding an Article 98 agreement with the
U.S. Their review of the issue will take time, however:
Gayoom is out of the country a great deal and things
just move slowly in the Maldives. As we have emphasized
before, Mission recommends strongly a brief meeting for
Gayoom with President Bush next year, if at all
possible. Relations between the U.S. and the Maldives,
a moderate Islamic country, have drawn closer since
September 11, 2001, and we think that even a brief
meeting would bring ties to another plane altogether.
Such a meeting would also help in terms of solidifying
Maldivian agreement to blanket overflight and ship
clearances, which might prove especially important
should there be a confrontation with Iraq (the Maldives
archipelago lies astride important Indian Ocean sea-
lanes and is located due north of Diego Garcia). We
also recommend favorable consideration of the Maldives'
request for continued "developing country" status at the
UN, which is an issue of the highest import to the
government. END COMMENT.
8. (U) Minimize considered.
WILLS